As i have begun mulling ideas and adventures for my first HB campaign theme i have been struck by the realisation that some ideas are suited to one theme whilst others into others. That is where i find myself. Two campaign ideas both of which i would love adventure ideas for.
1. Ecological Invasion: Inspired by the Chtorr Wars Novels this idea centres on an ecological invasion, a terraforming of sorts of the land after a war has sent almost everyone to the last city (in this country), Bastion. The war was fought against machines that came in many forms almost like they were testing for weaknesses. Then one day the machines were gone and the war was over. By this point most peoples had retreated to the HUGE city of Bastion. A few towns and villages remained some even miraculously untouched by the war. I intend for the story to start off with bandits, raiders, wild animals and the like in the countryside. Our heroes hopefully wanting to TRY to restore some semblance of order. Even some random agents of the enemy are still around. But the hinted factor is that life out here is changing, plants and animals are changing, totally different and nature has strengthen and not beaten back from civilisation easy. Some peoples, towns even go full native somehow living amongst the very environment that will kill them for there next meal if it suits. But there is some sort of guiding intelligence to it. Ultimately i see the PCs getting to Bastion and being sent on recon missions and discovering much of this. I have this idea that there is a Q (artificer) type figure who gives them experimental (limited charged) magical items to try out.
2. I dont have a theme for this one yet.What i have is two ideas and an adventure or 2 planned. A hinted at villain right from the get go is a a blue dragon seeking to become a dracolich but although they will learn of him, perhaps even meet him, they ultimately wont face off against him until level 12 ish. So what happens before this and after. Well the before is easier. the initial adventure hints at what he is after but ultimately is a stand alone story of protecting a town from some desert creatures, and gaining some trust from another dragon. They will learn of the existence of a dragon council? and move on. a couple of adventures later i want them on a train (magically powered) heading to the capital?. Queue train heist type scenario and following bandits back to base of operations. Or maybe on the proceeding adventure they learn of the bandits and take the fight to them before the heist. Heck knowing these guys aiding the bandits is a possibility. I have plenty of ideas here for individual adventures but im lacking a theme. I have a 12th level end point (dracolich) but it feels lacking and also what comes next? Was it just a pawn between law and chaos itself perhaps.
Campaign ideas, themes, adventures in these two worlds all welcome.
I like the 1st one much better. It is more open-ended. You don't have a finale in mind for it, or if you do you haven't stated it. This allows the story to grow organically as your players explore the (very cool) world.
The 2nd idea, you already know the ending before your players have played one minute in the campaign. It's one thing to know the "endgame plan" of the BBEG (he wants to become a dracolich), but you have already decided that the party will "face off against him" and at what level, which makes me suspect you might try to force things to go that way. I don't get the same sense of forcing things from the first scenario.
If I'm a player, and you present me with these 2 options, I'm going to be all over option 1. I like how open-ended it is plus it is very original. You can bring in these "world killer" machines at any point, maybe one of them wakes up or maybe the party even tries to wake one up and use it. You can bring in the warping of nature into it. Conceivably you could have ruins, dungeons, tangled forests, any number of adventure areas. "Go find out what happened to the other big city that we haven't heard from in 20 years," etc. That would be super fun.
"Go fight the dragon that wants to become a dracolich" is kind of meh.
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I also think that the first one is better. I see more potential in the idea. The world allows the possibility to discover pre-war artifacts. There is also an interest of why did the machines disappear. Another point is What did the invaders do to change the environment. If your players have a positive alignment they also could try to reteach the people willing to kill for food how to act properly. Another goal could be that they return the planet to its previous landscape.
I don't think they're mutually exclusive. I think the first one is a great general setting, I would ask your players and get some general input on what they want more of - exploration, politics, tactical combat etc... Based on their responses I don't see why you couldn't work the second part into the first one.
If they want high politics - maybe this dragon council has agents infiltrating Bastion. If they want a lot of exploration then lean more heavily on them looking for remaining villages, depending on the magic / tech level you could have them scouting out a location for the newest or first train station outside of Bastion. Maybe the city is building a track out to a new mithril mining site or to a bayside village so it has access to the sea for fishing. I think by combining all elements of both of these you could go in a whole number of directions - plus you never really know what your players will gravitate to in a new campaign.
BTW, I liked the first idea so much that I am going to, er, borrow it...
I pretty much only DM, and I don't really have time to be in a 2nd campaign regardless, but I do want to find a way to do some playing with my own character(s). So I am planning on doing a solo game of either D&D or possibly Savage Worlds, with something like the Mythic GM Emulator to help run things. If I go with D&D, I already have a particular inciting incident picked out, but if I go with Savage Worlds, I am going to swipe your first idea as the basis for the campaign.
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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.
Yeah I agree the second feels more railroad like. Its not my intent. I just had this idea for mr blue to be a recurring character always there but never sure who he is. And L12 is just the earliest I felt a party could face him because after all most of the time players do want to do the heroic thing.
The difference for me was I have these individual adventure ideas at least for the second. Whilst the first I havent even got anything.
As a note on the first one, I was thinking that the war finished only a few months ago and the ecological changes just starting up but perhap i fast forward that but I still think the players should be ignorant of it. I think those in bastion know that the war didn't end it just changed, and that they are losing without any idea of whom its actually against.
My take on it, if I would end up doing it for my solo game, would be that the machines "went quiet" (and nobody knows how/why) a long time ago. After about a year of no attacks, the city decided to send out a party of explorers to see what's what. HEROES volunteer of course. That could be your party.
But the way I would do it is... those heroes never came back. So the next year another group was sent out, again heroes volunteered, never came back Then every year, a group is sent out, never comes back. After some number of years (I'm not sure how many yet), nobody wants to go out anymore, so they have to resort to a sort of "Hunger Games " lottery. Your name goes into the bowl as a punishment for doing something bad. Commit a crime - name goes into the bowl. Soldier is insubordinate, name in the bowl, etc. So only the "misfits" end up in the pool anymore, and by the time the PCs go out, they are the misfits, not the top of the line, and they pretty much know they are going to their doom when they walk out the gate, with instructions of "don't come back until you find something actionable." -- be that, another town that survived... or info. on the machines... or maybe a piece of the machine... etc.
But that is my take... Just posting it here since, if I'm gonna swipe the basic idea, I may as well provide my own tweak for anyone else who wants to swipe it. ;)
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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.
1. Ecological Invasion: Inspired by the Chtorr Wars Novels this idea centres on an ecological invasion, a terraforming of sorts of the land after a war has sent almost everyone to the last city (in this country), Bastion. The war was fought against machines that came in many forms almost like they were testing for weaknesses. Then one day the machines were gone and the war was over. By this point most peoples had retreated to the HUGE city of Bastion. A few towns and villages remained some even miraculously untouched by the war. I intend for the story to start off with bandits, raiders, wild animals and the like in the countryside. Our heroes hopefully wanting to TRY to restore some semblance of order. Even some random agents of the enemy are still around. But the hinted factor is that life out here is changing, plants and animals are changing, totally different and nature has strengthen and not beaten back from civilisation easy. Some peoples, towns even go full native somehow living amongst the very environment that will kill them for there next meal if it suits. But there is some sort of guiding intelligence to it. Ultimately i see the PCs getting to Bastion and being sent on recon missions and discovering much of this. I have this idea that there is a Q (artificer) type figure who gives them experimental (limited charged) magical items to try out.
This is interesting, because rather than threats, it seems like there are more opportunities. The threat has gone and we have the potential to enter a golden age. But there is conflict in boom times as well, as everyone races to get the biggest share of the boom.
I'm picturing an adventure where there is a rumor of an alien artifact left behind by the invaders. But the rumor is no secret, and many adventuring parties have already set out looking for it. You must outrun or outsmart them all.
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As i have begun mulling ideas and adventures for my first HB campaign theme i have been struck by the realisation that some ideas are suited to one theme whilst others into others. That is where i find myself. Two campaign ideas both of which i would love adventure ideas for.
1. Ecological Invasion: Inspired by the Chtorr Wars Novels this idea centres on an ecological invasion, a terraforming of sorts of the land after a war has sent almost everyone to the last city (in this country), Bastion. The war was fought against machines that came in many forms almost like they were testing for weaknesses. Then one day the machines were gone and the war was over. By this point most peoples had retreated to the HUGE city of Bastion. A few towns and villages remained some even miraculously untouched by the war. I intend for the story to start off with bandits, raiders, wild animals and the like in the countryside. Our heroes hopefully wanting to TRY to restore some semblance of order. Even some random agents of the enemy are still around. But the hinted factor is that life out here is changing, plants and animals are changing, totally different and nature has strengthen and not beaten back from civilisation easy. Some peoples, towns even go full native somehow living amongst the very environment that will kill them for there next meal if it suits. But there is some sort of guiding intelligence to it. Ultimately i see the PCs getting to Bastion and being sent on recon missions and discovering much of this. I have this idea that there is a Q (artificer) type figure who gives them experimental (limited charged) magical items to try out.
2. I dont have a theme for this one yet.What i have is two ideas and an adventure or 2 planned. A hinted at villain right from the get go is a a blue dragon seeking to become a dracolich but although they will learn of him, perhaps even meet him, they ultimately wont face off against him until level 12 ish. So what happens before this and after. Well the before is easier. the initial adventure hints at what he is after but ultimately is a stand alone story of protecting a town from some desert creatures, and gaining some trust from another dragon. They will learn of the existence of a dragon council? and move on. a couple of adventures later i want them on a train (magically powered) heading to the capital?. Queue train heist type scenario and following bandits back to base of operations. Or maybe on the proceeding adventure they learn of the bandits and take the fight to them before the heist. Heck knowing these guys aiding the bandits is a possibility. I have plenty of ideas here for individual adventures but im lacking a theme. I have a 12th level end point (dracolich) but it feels lacking and also what comes next? Was it just a pawn between law and chaos itself perhaps.
Campaign ideas, themes, adventures in these two worlds all welcome.
I like the 1st one much better. It is more open-ended. You don't have a finale in mind for it, or if you do you haven't stated it. This allows the story to grow organically as your players explore the (very cool) world.
The 2nd idea, you already know the ending before your players have played one minute in the campaign. It's one thing to know the "endgame plan" of the BBEG (he wants to become a dracolich), but you have already decided that the party will "face off against him" and at what level, which makes me suspect you might try to force things to go that way. I don't get the same sense of forcing things from the first scenario.
If I'm a player, and you present me with these 2 options, I'm going to be all over option 1. I like how open-ended it is plus it is very original. You can bring in these "world killer" machines at any point, maybe one of them wakes up or maybe the party even tries to wake one up and use it. You can bring in the warping of nature into it. Conceivably you could have ruins, dungeons, tangled forests, any number of adventure areas. "Go find out what happened to the other big city that we haven't heard from in 20 years," etc. That would be super fun.
"Go fight the dragon that wants to become a dracolich" is kind of meh.
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.
I also think that the first one is better. I see more potential in the idea. The world allows the possibility to discover pre-war artifacts. There is also an interest of why did the machines disappear. Another point is What did the invaders do to change the environment. If your players have a positive alignment they also could try to reteach the people willing to kill for food how to act properly. Another goal could be that they return the planet to its previous landscape.
May your blades stay ever sharp, and your minds as well.
DM: you party is approached by a bug bear.
Newbie: that sounds terrifying its like a bear with wings and pincers!
Veteran No, Its a...
DM: *scribbling furiously* The bugbears mandibles click furiously, everybody roll initiative!
I don't think they're mutually exclusive. I think the first one is a great general setting, I would ask your players and get some general input on what they want more of - exploration, politics, tactical combat etc... Based on their responses I don't see why you couldn't work the second part into the first one.
If they want high politics - maybe this dragon council has agents infiltrating Bastion. If they want a lot of exploration then lean more heavily on them looking for remaining villages, depending on the magic / tech level you could have them scouting out a location for the newest or first train station outside of Bastion. Maybe the city is building a track out to a new mithril mining site or to a bayside village so it has access to the sea for fishing. I think by combining all elements of both of these you could go in a whole number of directions - plus you never really know what your players will gravitate to in a new campaign.
BTW, I liked the first idea so much that I am going to, er, borrow it...
I pretty much only DM, and I don't really have time to be in a 2nd campaign regardless, but I do want to find a way to do some playing with my own character(s). So I am planning on doing a solo game of either D&D or possibly Savage Worlds, with something like the Mythic GM Emulator to help run things. If I go with D&D, I already have a particular inciting incident picked out, but if I go with Savage Worlds, I am going to swipe your first idea as the basis for the campaign.
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.
Yeah I agree the second feels more railroad like. Its not my intent. I just had this idea for mr blue to be a recurring character always there but never sure who he is. And L12 is just the earliest I felt a party could face him because after all most of the time players do want to do the heroic thing.
The difference for me was I have these individual adventure ideas at least for the second. Whilst the first I havent even got anything.
As a note on the first one, I was thinking that the war finished only a few months ago and the ecological changes just starting up but perhap i fast forward that but I still think the players should be ignorant of it. I think those in bastion know that the war didn't end it just changed, and that they are losing without any idea of whom its actually against.
My take on it, if I would end up doing it for my solo game, would be that the machines "went quiet" (and nobody knows how/why) a long time ago. After about a year of no attacks, the city decided to send out a party of explorers to see what's what. HEROES volunteer of course. That could be your party.
But the way I would do it is... those heroes never came back. So the next year another group was sent out, again heroes volunteered, never came back Then every year, a group is sent out, never comes back. After some number of years (I'm not sure how many yet), nobody wants to go out anymore, so they have to resort to a sort of "Hunger Games " lottery. Your name goes into the bowl as a punishment for doing something bad. Commit a crime - name goes into the bowl. Soldier is insubordinate, name in the bowl, etc. So only the "misfits" end up in the pool anymore, and by the time the PCs go out, they are the misfits, not the top of the line, and they pretty much know they are going to their doom when they walk out the gate, with instructions of "don't come back until you find something actionable." -- be that, another town that survived... or info. on the machines... or maybe a piece of the machine... etc.
But that is my take... Just posting it here since, if I'm gonna swipe the basic idea, I may as well provide my own tweak for anyone else who wants to swipe it. ;)
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.
Sounds good. I'm going to avoid the hunger games tropes for this one thou. Good luck with your campaign.
This is interesting, because rather than threats, it seems like there are more opportunities. The threat has gone and we have the potential to enter a golden age. But there is conflict in boom times as well, as everyone races to get the biggest share of the boom.
I'm picturing an adventure where there is a rumor of an alien artifact left behind by the invaders. But the rumor is no secret, and many adventuring parties have already set out looking for it. You must outrun or outsmart them all.