Hello fellow DMs! I have an idea for a campaign I want to make for my homebrew, and I'd like some advice and tips that you think would help make it interesting. I also need help with translating characters to this world.
Basically, it's going to take place in a Bioshock Infinite setting with a Skyward Sword type of world. Cities are going to be on islands in the clouds with the same type of zip line travel and trolleys going about. Each island is connected by the same zip line, which you can either fly your own ship to or you can take the trolley. Due to overpopulation, expansion needs to happen, which is where our story begins. The party consists of mapmakers from various backgrounds and with various skillsets, and they have to explore new islands and map out the unexplored. Along the way they encounter creatures both unknown and common, as well as pirates and outcasts that just happened upon these islands. I will already have the world mapped out along with each individual island, and I want my party members to try and map out the island as best as they can to what I have.
As for weapons, I don't want actual magic. I want a type of pseudo-magic, where it's mainly weapons that fire elemental-type ammo with finite and hard to make ammo. Certain classes will be able to create certain types of ammo for these types of weapons. I don't think I'll have a Druid or Sorcerer equivalent though, but classes like Ranger, Rogue and Bard should be fairly easy. For melee weapons, I'm thinking of a type of battery like in Alita that propels or maybe charges the weapon, but again, only for a finite amount. For melee I'm thinking of having a sort of recharge after a certain amount of uses.
For classes and races, I don't think I'm gonna do too much tinkering with them. I might just end up doing away with spells and spell slots and just adding extra feats and traits based on background. Same for some of the features certain races get when it comes to spells. I'll probably leave in dark vision depending on what race is chosen though. This part is where I'm gonna need some ideas on and what you guys would do if you think this approach is too limiting.
But that's basically what I got so far. I have time still until I start this campaign, so not in too much of a rush, but I do need to get started on it. I've also done basically nothing but home brews, so any tips on having set encounters and how to convince players would be a plus. Normally if my players are very reluctant to have a needed encounter I have to start dropping boulders from the sky, but I don't really like railroading too much which leads to me trying to improvise a lot, even if it doesn't really make sense and I have to retcon later. I don't know if this is an issue DMs have with normal legit campaigns though, since I haven't done those.
Anyways, thanks for reading, and if you guys have any tips, please let me know!
This feels far enough away from D&D, especially with the elimination of core class elements and magic, that I would consider searching around to see if there's an established game that does something like this and play that instead.
Also, if your players don't want to go through a "needed encounter," let them avoid it. However, you can set up consequences for doing so. Maybe the next part of the mission fails or maybe they get ambushed. Maybe that town they were supposed to go to and end up saving gets wiped from the face of the Toril, but that was also the only place where they could find the MacGuffin they needed to defeat the BBEG. Now they have to hunt down the villains who did the deed.
yeah, you're not talking about a new campaign, you're talking about an entirely new setting with new rules. Have you formally made any adventures before - not just ad-lib, but flush out the entire document? If not, i'd say start there in a known world, then do a few and stick them all together into a campaign....then go off and create your new world (if you still have the interest by then).
Hello fellow DMs! I have an idea for a campaign I want to make for my homebrew, and I'd like some advice and tips that you think would help make it interesting. I also need help with translating characters to this world.
Basically, it's going to take place in a Bioshock Infinite setting with a Skyward Sword type of world. Cities are going to be on islands in the clouds with the same type of zip line travel and trolleys going about. Each island is connected by the same zip line, which you can either fly your own ship to or you can take the trolley. Due to overpopulation, expansion needs to happen, which is where our story begins. The party consists of mapmakers from various backgrounds and with various skillsets, and they have to explore new islands and map out the unexplored. Along the way they encounter creatures both unknown and common, as well as pirates and outcasts that just happened upon these islands. I will already have the world mapped out along with each individual island, and I want my party members to try and map out the island as best as they can to what I have.
As for weapons, I don't want actual magic. I want a type of pseudo-magic, where it's mainly weapons that fire elemental-type ammo with finite and hard to make ammo. Certain classes will be able to create certain types of ammo for these types of weapons. I don't think I'll have a Druid or Sorcerer equivalent though, but classes like Ranger, Rogue and Bard should be fairly easy. For melee weapons, I'm thinking of a type of battery like in Alita that propels or maybe charges the weapon, but again, only for a finite amount. For melee I'm thinking of having a sort of recharge after a certain amount of uses.
For classes and races, I don't think I'm gonna do too much tinkering with them. I might just end up doing away with spells and spell slots and just adding extra feats and traits based on background. Same for some of the features certain races get when it comes to spells. I'll probably leave in dark vision depending on what race is chosen though. This part is where I'm gonna need some ideas on and what you guys would do if you think this approach is too limiting.
But that's basically what I got so far. I have time still until I start this campaign, so not in too much of a rush, but I do need to get started on it. I've also done basically nothing but home brews, so any tips on having set encounters and how to convince players would be a plus. Normally if my players are very reluctant to have a needed encounter I have to start dropping boulders from the sky, but I don't really like railroading too much which leads to me trying to improvise a lot, even if it doesn't really make sense and I have to retcon later. I don't know if this is an issue DMs have with normal legit campaigns though, since I haven't done those.
Anyways, thanks for reading, and if you guys have any tips, please let me know!
This feels far enough away from D&D, especially with the elimination of core class elements and magic, that I would consider searching around to see if there's an established game that does something like this and play that instead.
Also, if your players don't want to go through a "needed encounter," let them avoid it. However, you can set up consequences for doing so. Maybe the next part of the mission fails or maybe they get ambushed. Maybe that town they were supposed to go to and end up saving gets wiped from the face of the Toril, but that was also the only place where they could find the MacGuffin they needed to defeat the BBEG. Now they have to hunt down the villains who did the deed.
yeah, you're not talking about a new campaign, you're talking about an entirely new setting with new rules. Have you formally made any adventures before - not just ad-lib, but flush out the entire document? If not, i'd say start there in a known world, then do a few and stick them all together into a campaign....then go off and create your new world (if you still have the interest by then).
Guide to the Five Factions (PWYW)
Deck of Decks