Hello, I'm new to DMing (this will be my first time). I've been playing D&D for a while, but I've never DM'ed before. I'm working on a Campaign based around the 7 Sins (not the anime). So far this is what I have (I apologize if it's too much to read):
PRIDE = Anti-Paladin [Death Knight Template] WRATH = Yeenoghu, OR Zariel LUST = Vampire GLUTTONY = Nalfeshnee SLOTH = A Lazy Magic User (Probably Wizard?) GREED = Red Dragon ENVY = Twins (Probably Monks? 1. Way Of Shadows. Not sure the 2nd)
- Sorrowsworns: 1. Minions for their respective Sin. 2. Those who become so overwhelmed by a Sin, eventually change into a Sorrowsworn. 3. Both.
- A city has been taken over by 7 powerful beings. Known as The 7 Sins(?).
- If City: The city is divided into 7 sections (each part ruled by a different Sin).
ALLIES/FRIENDLIES: - A group of mercenaries/freedom fighters hidden throughout the City, divided into multiple smaller groups, each with unique qualities. - GROUPS: Knowledge, Assassins/Thieves, "Muscle"/Fighters, etc. - Each group has a different symbol to reference them: Examples: Cat, Wolf, Rose, Cross with a Sunrise/Circle behind it, etc.
The Sins have ruled over the city for years(?). Causing all the civilians (and anyone who enters the city), to be overwhelmed by one of the Sins. Which Sin they're overwhelmed by, depends on the person's greatest addiction/weakness/flaw(?) (e.g.: enjoys money/stealing/etc.=Greed. Flirting/sex/etc.=Lust. Food/alcohol/etc.=Gluttony).
- The Sins each have unique forms of entertainment in their sections. (Wrath has a coliseum, where he forces others to fight to the death) (Lust has a Brothel(?))
I'm also thinking about trying to work little mechanics(?) each Sin (To get to Wrath, you have to first fight through a Coliseum, etc.).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also to anyone who actually took the time to read my long post, I appreciate it.
You have a very ... interesting ... world/setting. You certainly don't lack for imagination!
But world building and Campaign building aren't the same thing. Campaigns are composed of Adventures, Adventures are built around conflict and struggle.
What do you envision the Campaign to be about? What do you picture the Party doing in this setting? What can - potentially - be the motive for the Party to get involved in whatever is going on in the city? What do you think will be their ultimate goal ( the Party might have other ideas, and go in different directions than you'd planned, of course )?
It's in setting up the tensions and the conflicts within the setting where you define your Campaign :)
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I suggest before you go too far in planning that you devote some time to watching Colville's Running the Game series. It wont' give you any advice around the 7 sins but it gives lots of good general advice.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
A couple of questions. Do the Sins openly rule the city? Or they're more a background influence subverting the city?
Second, your Sins have wildly different CR's, so you might want to think up why they don't destroy each other. Are they working as a team? Are they bound together in some way? How do they feel about each other? There is a lot of potential for conflict (which is great for the story) there.
I would suggest quadrants for each sin. Otherwise the place will be a mess. And I would also suggest each quadrant has some feature to enable it's inhabitants to appease their vice without killing other citiczens. Lust would obviously have brothels. Wrath a fighting pit, or possibly an executioners square. Greed, something like a stock exchange ( a fantasy version of one). Etc etc. You get the idea. And I would have a central location where they could all go to deal/trade with each other. This is probably the entrance to the city, where new people come as well, and then when they get overwhelmed by a Sin they would head off to that part of the city.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Since I messed up and chose "reply" instead of "quote" (twice...) (this is my first time using forums here.. :$), I'm going to make these useful.
If I choose Wizard and Monks for Sloth and Envy, then I might have to make custom creatures for them. Does anyone have any advice on making custom bosses? Balancing, Levels, etc.? Any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated.
I suggest before you go too far in planning that you devote some time to watching Colville's Running the Game series. It wont' give you any advice around the 7 sins but it gives lots of good general advice.
A couple of questions. Do the Sins openly rule the city? Or they're more a background influence subverting the city?
Second, your Sins have wildly different CR's, so you might want to think up why they don't destroy each other. Are they working as a team? Are they bound together in some way? How do they feel about each other? There is a lot of potential for conflict (which is great for the story) there.
I would suggest quadrants for each sin. Otherwise the place will be a mess. And I would also suggest each quadrant has some feature to enable it's inhabitants to appease their vice without killing other citiczens. Lust would obviously have brothels. Wrath a fighting pit, or possibly an executioners square. Greed, something like a stock exchange ( a fantasy version of one). Etc etc. You get the idea. And I would have a central location where they could all go to deal/trade with each other. This is probably the entrance to the city, where new people come as well, and then when they get overwhelmed by a Sin they would head off to that part of the city.
Good questions.
I was leaning towards more openly ruling the city. Like the city knows they're their.
The Sins will be a team. I was thinking of trying to work some kind of conflict between certain Sins. Like Greed and Gluttony might not get along too well (since they're both a form of wanting things for themselves). Pride's "I'm better than you" personality might sometimes infuriate Wrath. Envy might be envious of the other Sins (jealous that Pride and Wrath are stronger. Lust and Greed can usually get whatever they want. Etc.).
I designed a city, divided into 7 sections, each section separate from each other by big thick walls. Although I've been contemplating on instead of a city, maybe extending it and making it an entire Kingdom? Where each Sin has their own City/Terrain/etc. . Giving the Sins more space between each other, extending the story/campaign more, etc.
You have a very ... interesting ... world/setting. You certainly don't lack for imagination!
But world building and Campaign building aren't the same thing. Campaigns are composed of Adventures, Adventures are built around conflict and struggle.
What do you envision the Campaign to be about? What do you picture the Party doing in this setting? What can - potentially - be the motive for the Party to get involved in whatever is going on in the city? What do you think will be their ultimate goal ( the Party might have other ideas, and go in different directions than you'd planned, of course )?
It's in setting up the tensions and the conflicts within the setting where you define your Campaign :)
So far the only envision I have for my campaign is the 7 Sins lol. I might change it from instead of the Sins controlling a single city, to maybe an entire Kingdom or something. That way would probably be easier to control encounters with Sins, instead of hoping the Adventurers go to a specific city and stay in said city. Plus extending the areas will make the campaign last longer.
Matt Colville is a fantastic resource in gathering ideas if how to build a better cohesive world that seems real. That is a key thing as well if you want players to be immersed in the world you should give your main bosses goals.
What will they do if your players were not there?
For Pride, it seems impossible that if he/her/they are not the leader of the main powerful force in your world their goal would probably become the leader of the 7.
What got the 7 together?
What drew them to the area?
Why do they not tear each other apart when their goal is accomplished?
You already are moving in the right direction of figuring out what are the 7's relationships among themselves. I would have some light notes that let you know who are allies, enemies (dislike), or indifferent. So for Greed would have a friend in Sloth, and Wrath, they dislike Gluttony, and Envy, and are indifferent to the rest and would help them or go against them if the price is right. Do what sounds right to you, and then create a reason why they are friends, enemies, or just don't care about the others.
You should probably do a quick once over the classes and figure out how they fit in your world. Clerics, for example, are their gods that are outlawed? What are the common gods or god that is worshiped? Are warlocks commonplace? Are bards just minstrels or perhaps are the chosen few of Lust. You don't need great details in this but it would be interesting to see if there is one class that is more associated with sin than others.
THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE I CAN GIVE IS DO NOT BE AFRAID TO STEAL FROM YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS, MOVIES, SHOWS OR ANYTHING ELSE. Don't be rude about stealing stuff but use things that you like in other media in your world. Keep asking the question of WHY and it will help build your world.
If you are doing a city then I would recommend that you have a some sort of powerful object at the center of the city that drew all the sins there, or created them, something along those lines. You also could use the object in the city to explain everything, why they work together and why all of them survive.
If you do a kingdoms then you probably want a good reason nearby kingdoms don’t attack, and if they are to weak then why they weren’t conquered. Also if you want your characters to save a kingdoms then you should have them work with the resistance groups so they can have help.
Also one good way that I would use for the charecters to not leave is they cant. The sin that possesses them is linked to the main sin and the only way to stop that is killing the sin.
Could always go the FMA route and have a shadow power that's ruling all 7 of them and the conflict between sins is just to lure in PCs for some powerful ritual or awakening.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
UPDATE (PART 1): First off, I've decided on a city. Divided into 7 sections. No one is able to leave the city, until all the Sins are defeated (meaning once the Adventurers enter the City, they're trapped. Hence giving reason for them to have to fight the Sins). In order to continue to the next part of the City, the Adventurers must first defeat the Sin which controls the part they're currently in.
Sloth will be the first, which I've decided to make a Wizard - Time.
Each Sin will have their own unique concept of reaching them. (What I've decided so far) Sloth: a Dungeon Maze, filled with Trap Rooms, Trick Rooms, and Monster Rooms (already made a map for it). Wrath: a Coliseum/Tournament. Those are all I've figured so far. I'm thinking maybe for Greed, something along the lines of, The Adventurers have to pay a fee or forfeit something valuable, in order to get to him.
UPDATE (PART 2): I've thought of an interesting little twist.
Sloth (Time Wizard) is the most powerful among the Sins, and will be the first Sin they encounter. During their first encounter, Sloth will come off as weak, but really he's just lazy. During their first encounter, he'll eventually just give up and leave. Later through the campaign, the Adventurers encounter Sloth again, although this time he'll seem much more powerful. It seems that Sloth held back last time (alot), because he really doesn't enjoy having to use his full power, since he's "very lazy, and fighting and using his full power is just too much work". So he prefers to leave the fighting to his fellow brethren (the other Sins). Which by this point, the Adventurers would have defeated the other Sins, meaning that now Sloth has no choice but deal with the Adventurers himself, essentially making him go full out and actually fight seriously this time.
UPDATE (PART 3): This thought isn't set in stone yet, it's just something that came across my mind last night.
The Sins were once all part of the same being, a being which once caused chaos everywhere it went. In order for this creature to be defeated, they had to separate it's entities from it's body (the 7 Sins). Over the years, the 7 individual entities eventually formed physical beings of their own, thus the "7 Sins" were born. When each Sin is killed, it returns to the original source/creature which the Sins belonged to. Once all the Sins have returned, the true will become whole once again.
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Hello, I'm new to DMing (this will be my first time). I've been playing D&D for a while, but I've never DM'ed before. I'm working on a Campaign based around the 7 Sins (not the anime). So far this is what I have (I apologize if it's too much to read):
PRIDE = Anti-Paladin [Death Knight Template]
WRATH = Yeenoghu, OR Zariel
LUST = Vampire
GLUTTONY = Nalfeshnee
SLOTH = A Lazy Magic User (Probably Wizard?)
GREED = Red Dragon
ENVY = Twins (Probably Monks? 1. Way Of Shadows. Not sure the 2nd)
- Sorrowsworns:
1. Minions for their respective Sin.
2. Those who become so overwhelmed by a Sin, eventually change into a Sorrowsworn.
3. Both.
- A city has been taken over by 7 powerful beings. Known as The 7 Sins(?).
- If City: The city is divided into 7 sections (each part ruled by a different Sin).
ALLIES/FRIENDLIES:
- A group of mercenaries/freedom fighters hidden throughout the City, divided into multiple smaller groups, each with unique qualities.
- GROUPS: Knowledge, Assassins/Thieves, "Muscle"/Fighters, etc.
- Each group has a different symbol to reference them: Examples: Cat, Wolf, Rose, Cross with a Sunrise/Circle behind it, etc.
The Sins have ruled over the city for years(?). Causing all the civilians (and anyone who enters the city),
to be overwhelmed by one of the Sins. Which Sin they're overwhelmed by, depends on the person's greatest
addiction/weakness/flaw(?) (e.g.: enjoys money/stealing/etc.=Greed. Flirting/sex/etc.=Lust. Food/alcohol/etc.=Gluttony).
- The Sins each have unique forms of entertainment in their sections. (Wrath has a coliseum, where he forces others to fight to the death) (Lust has a Brothel(?))
I'm also thinking about trying to work little mechanics(?) each Sin (To get to Wrath, you have to first fight through a Coliseum, etc.).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also to anyone who actually took the time to read my long post, I appreciate it.
You have a very ... interesting ... world/setting. You certainly don't lack for imagination!
But world building and Campaign building aren't the same thing. Campaigns are composed of Adventures, Adventures are built around conflict and struggle.
What do you envision the Campaign to be about? What do you picture the Party doing in this setting? What can - potentially - be the motive for the Party to get involved in whatever is going on in the city? What do you think will be their ultimate goal ( the Party might have other ideas, and go in different directions than you'd planned, of course )?
It's in setting up the tensions and the conflicts within the setting where you define your Campaign :)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I suggest before you go too far in planning that you devote some time to watching Colville's Running the Game series. It wont' give you any advice around the 7 sins but it gives lots of good general advice.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
A couple of questions. Do the Sins openly rule the city? Or they're more a background influence subverting the city?
Second, your Sins have wildly different CR's, so you might want to think up why they don't destroy each other. Are they working as a team? Are they bound together in some way? How do they feel about each other? There is a lot of potential for conflict (which is great for the story) there.
I would suggest quadrants for each sin. Otherwise the place will be a mess. And I would also suggest each quadrant has some feature to enable it's inhabitants to appease their vice without killing other citiczens. Lust would obviously have brothels. Wrath a fighting pit, or possibly an executioners square. Greed, something like a stock exchange ( a fantasy version of one). Etc etc. You get the idea. And I would have a central location where they could all go to deal/trade with each other. This is probably the entrance to the city, where new people come as well, and then when they get overwhelmed by a Sin they would head off to that part of the city.
Heptants? :D
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
Small thing but I would definitely say Zariel for Wrath
Since I messed up and chose "reply" instead of "quote" (twice...) (this is my first time using forums here.. :$), I'm going to make these useful.
If I choose Wizard and Monks for Sloth and Envy, then I might have to make custom creatures for them. Does anyone have any advice on making custom bosses? Balancing, Levels, etc.? Any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated.
[Deleted]
Thank you, I'll definitely check it out!
Good questions.
I was leaning towards more openly ruling the city. Like the city knows they're their.
The Sins will be a team. I was thinking of trying to work some kind of conflict between certain Sins. Like Greed and Gluttony might not get along too well (since they're both a form of wanting things for themselves). Pride's "I'm better than you" personality might sometimes infuriate Wrath. Envy might be envious of the other Sins (jealous that Pride and Wrath are stronger. Lust and Greed can usually get whatever they want. Etc.).
I designed a city, divided into 7 sections, each section separate from each other by big thick walls. Although I've been contemplating on instead of a city, maybe extending it and making it an entire Kingdom? Where each Sin has their own City/Terrain/etc. . Giving the Sins more space between each other, extending the story/campaign more, etc.
So far the only envision I have for my campaign is the 7 Sins lol. I might change it from instead of the Sins controlling a single city, to maybe an entire Kingdom or something. That way would probably be easier to control encounters with Sins, instead of hoping the Adventurers go to a specific city and stay in said city. Plus extending the areas will make the campaign last longer.
only 2 cents is Yeenoghu would be better as Gluttony as his forces are driven by mad hunger, and consuming tainted flesh is what creates Gnolls.
Baphomet might be a good coverage for wrath instead of Yeenoghu.
Matt Colville is a fantastic resource in gathering ideas if how to build a better cohesive world that seems real. That is a key thing as well if you want players to be immersed in the world you should give your main bosses goals.
What will they do if your players were not there?
For Pride, it seems impossible that if he/her/they are not the leader of the main powerful force in your world their goal would probably become the leader of the 7.
What got the 7 together?
What drew them to the area?
Why do they not tear each other apart when their goal is accomplished?
You already are moving in the right direction of figuring out what are the 7's relationships among themselves. I would have some light notes that let you know who are allies, enemies (dislike), or indifferent. So for Greed would have a friend in Sloth, and Wrath, they dislike Gluttony, and Envy, and are indifferent to the rest and would help them or go against them if the price is right. Do what sounds right to you, and then create a reason why they are friends, enemies, or just don't care about the others.
You should probably do a quick once over the classes and figure out how they fit in your world. Clerics, for example, are their gods that are outlawed? What are the common gods or god that is worshiped? Are warlocks commonplace? Are bards just minstrels or perhaps are the chosen few of Lust. You don't need great details in this but it would be interesting to see if there is one class that is more associated with sin than others.
THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE I CAN GIVE IS DO NOT BE AFRAID TO STEAL FROM YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS, MOVIES, SHOWS OR ANYTHING ELSE. Don't be rude about stealing stuff but use things that you like in other media in your world. Keep asking the question of WHY and it will help build your world.
If you are doing a city then I would recommend that you have a some sort of powerful object at the center of the city that drew all the sins there, or created them, something along those lines. You also could use the object in the city to explain everything, why they work together and why all of them survive.
If you do a kingdoms then you probably want a good reason nearby kingdoms don’t attack, and if they are to weak then why they weren’t conquered. Also if you want your characters to save a kingdoms then you should have them work with the resistance groups so they can have help.
Also one good way that I would use for the charecters to not leave is they cant. The sin that possesses them is linked to the main sin and the only way to stop that is killing the sin.
Could always go the FMA route and have a shadow power that's ruling all 7 of them and the conflict between sins is just to lure in PCs for some powerful ritual or awakening.
Alternatively, there's finding ( or creating ) an organized resistance to the throw off the rule of the Sins.
Seems like a perfect Paladin Campaign :D
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
UPDATE (PART 1): First off, I've decided on a city. Divided into 7 sections. No one is able to leave the city, until all the Sins are defeated (meaning once the Adventurers enter the City, they're trapped. Hence giving reason for them to have to fight the Sins). In order to continue to the next part of the City, the Adventurers must first defeat the Sin which controls the part they're currently in.
Sloth will be the first, which I've decided to make a Wizard - Time.
Each Sin will have their own unique concept of reaching them. (What I've decided so far) Sloth: a Dungeon Maze, filled with Trap Rooms, Trick Rooms, and Monster Rooms (already made a map for it). Wrath: a Coliseum/Tournament. Those are all I've figured so far. I'm thinking maybe for Greed, something along the lines of, The Adventurers have to pay a fee or forfeit something valuable, in order to get to him.
UPDATE (PART 2): I've thought of an interesting little twist.
Sloth (Time Wizard) is the most powerful among the Sins, and will be the first Sin they encounter. During their first encounter, Sloth will come off as weak, but really he's just lazy. During their first encounter, he'll eventually just give up and leave. Later through the campaign, the Adventurers encounter Sloth again, although this time he'll seem much more powerful. It seems that Sloth held back last time (alot), because he really doesn't enjoy having to use his full power, since he's "very lazy, and fighting and using his full power is just too much work". So he prefers to leave the fighting to his fellow brethren (the other Sins). Which by this point, the Adventurers would have defeated the other Sins, meaning that now Sloth has no choice but deal with the Adventurers himself, essentially making him go full out and actually fight seriously this time.
UPDATE (PART 3): This thought isn't set in stone yet, it's just something that came across my mind last night.
The Sins were once all part of the same being, a being which once caused chaos everywhere it went. In order for this creature to be defeated, they had to separate it's entities from it's body (the 7 Sins). Over the years, the 7 individual entities eventually formed physical beings of their own, thus the "7 Sins" were born.
When each Sin is killed, it returns to the original source/creature which the Sins belonged to. Once all the Sins have returned, the true will become whole once again.