I always struggle with how to start my homebrew campaigns. I don’t like the norm, and I avoid it if I can. I’d like thoughts and input on an opening I’ve created for a recent campaign.
Opening:
(What I’d tell the players)... The town of Hatch is a small rural town, best known for its fertile soil and many farms.The fall season is here, and the harvest is incoming, but the stores of Hatch have been plagued by break-ins, robberies, and Bandit raids. The local farmers cooperative has hired some traveling folks to protect their stores, which they’ve taken to keeping in the town’s central silos, and perhaps hunt down the culprits if they should strike again. You are among those hired for this task. You don’t know your newly founded team, but that money sure would come in handy. Each night, you take to posts throughout the town, ringing the central silos.
The last few days of the harvest go by without a snag. Tomorrow morning, a farmer’s caravan is to set out for the great market and harbors of Drear Crag and Cliffs End. A caravan which you will be escorting as the final part of this job. The night is quiet and calm, you can see the flickering torches of your fellow hired guards: your posts are stationed where you can see the nearest guard to any direction of you, ideally creating a net of impassable distance. The breeze isn’t soft, a light play against your clothing, hair and torch. It’s been a quiet job and easy pay.
Then the night is rent by an explosion. You turn to the sound, only to be swept back by the force of a heat wave. Knocked to your feet, you see fires climbing into the night. You rush toward the town silos, the source of the commotion. Before you they appear in flame, smoke billowing into the night. As you stare on, you hear the crack of a whip, and horses hooves, then see a line of wagons, tearing through the towns dirt roads, away from the silos.You watch one, then another, then another of your fellow guards fall to arrows in the head or chest, seemingly from nowhere. What do you do?
(next events).... the players are the only guards remaining.
if they decide to chase the wagons they are harried by bowman from rooftop through the streets of town. On foot they cannot keep up and are forced to track the wagons back to the Bandit camp. They combat the bandits (or negotiate) and bring the wagons home, to leave again anotherday and escort them to the great market.
if they decide to fight the fires, they quickly realize the fires are an illusion. They were deceived and the bandits have let the farmers do their work for them by loading the wagons. The farmers beg them to track the wagons.
(fast forward).... players escort the saved wagon train, fend off a roving party of orcs, and arrive at the great market, where the harvest festival, Sicklehang, is in full swing.the players, meander into a tent labeled (circus of bla bla) and are kidnapped, along with much of the crowd, to be sold as slaves.
And thats what I have so far. Thoughts? All are welcome, I really struggle with openings, so this is always awful.
Seems like a decent start to a game. You have a solid premise and a few choice points along the way. I assume the bandits have a magician of some kind on hand if they are tossing around such spells like Major Image. A fifth level caster like that seems sort of strong for a starting party to have to deal with, but maybe the bandits just got their hands on a scroll or something. There's a DM's Guild adventure that has some orcs trying to blow up a city's walls with unspecified magical blasting scrolls that are basically magical equivalents of time bombs. It'd be kind of neat if maybe that explosion on your silos was actually real (but still a distraction) and was basically a notice or something that was hung there among the other messages by an inside agent. It would help make sense of how the silos got attacked without anyone noticing earlier. Then if the party tries to capture some of the archer bandits for questioning, it may reveal a deeper conspiracy within the town as well as more information about the "bandit camp."
After they rescue the wagons and do their escort mission, I'm not sure getting kidnapped by an evil circus is really the best play, but if you have a bit more information about that, I'd be willing to see if I can offer any advice.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I appreciate the advice. Thanks so much. To your initial points: The bandits have a a pair of twin bards, both fifth level, casting major image together to create a 40x20x20 illusion. Yes they are too powerful for the party, but they figure in later in the campaign. Though both flee later at the camp. I like the idea of the item bomb scrolls, that could be great. Because the illusion doesn’t allow for the noise of an explosion as powerful as I’d like. I like the idea of a conspiracy, but really, this is only meant as starting action. I almost just began with the escort mission, but I hate starting just like that.
As for the circus, it’s actually the beginning of the first chapter of the campaign. The circus is kidnapping slaves for a cult, which figures prominently in the first act of the campaign. I have a party of half brand new players ad half veterans, so I’m trying to create something that will allow the new players to see the veterans do some serious role playing. My back up option to the circus was a kidnapped mayor’s daughter to rescue from the woods nearby. But that was too combat heavy, so I changed it.
The overarching first act is that there isn’t a cult working to find and restore hidden template, to disrupt the regional governments, and release an imprisioned villain of immense power all in service of their god. But they need resources first, and must build power for their master. The second act is the search for said villain and his capture/death. You can see what I have most fleshed out so far.
Forgive all all my typos. I’m on my ipad, and it’s autocorrect is going berserk.
In that case, unless you can tie the silo/escort missions to the cult in some way, it'd almost be worth it to just cut those and go straight for the circus. Have the players wander the city a bit and find themselves at the local festival. Having them all being captured together and having to work out a way to escape the cult is rather reminiscent of the beginning of the Out of the Abyss adventure book where the party starts off in a Drow slave pen deep in the Underdark.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
I haven’t read Out of the Abyss, but I’m glad to have inadvertently drawn from some things established. More than anything The Bandit missions are meant to establish the region, environments for them to be familiar wi5h since its homebrew, and provide some lower level combats to level up. Also, I’m going to tie it into two of my characters back stories. Sorry all of this could have been said initially, but I’m writing these posts during short breaks at work.
The bards are. They play in as trying to quietly bring a lord of a major fishing town over to the cults sway through misdirection. They were going to be at the circus, but Im just now deciding to spread out the heavy hitters. You’re helping me think this through better. I appreciate it greatly!
I just had a funny thought about a mass disappearing act the cult could use to get all the people.
So they have the two bards doing something of a magic show in the center ring with two large crates. Basically, it's a transportative disappearing act where one bard goes into one colorful crate and comes out the other, maybe in a new outfit with a party drink or something else funny. Then, they start casting stuff like Suggestion and/or Hypnotic Pattern or maybe they just use enchanted instruments to get people to volunteer to go in the box, ostensibly to show off the most amazing disappearing trick yet. They say they are going to make the whole crowd vanish and people start lining up to go in the box, but none are coming out of the other end. Everyone wants to go in the box because wherever it goes, that one bard came out the other side all fancy-like with a frosted margarita or some-such. Once everyone has been sent into the box (party included), smash-cut to the cult's prison pits. Back at the circus, the bards high-five and begin preparing for the next show in a few hours.
Oooh that’s is a great idea. I also realized that I might be able to level my idea better. If I lowered the bards level, they could achieve the same effect using minor illusion and silent image side by side: 15ft cube of fire from one and audio from minor illusion cantrip. I’ve also considered it being a scroll of major image that they use. My goal is I want to establish three or four small, one evening adventures that seem disconnected but come together after y adventures or so. The whole campaign is only meant as a 12 session campaign.
On the subject of the spellcasters, I found a spell caster enemy in Volos with the right spell slots at CR 1
I always struggle with how to start my homebrew campaigns. I don’t like the norm, and I avoid it if I can. I’d like thoughts and input on an opening I’ve created for a recent campaign.
Opening:
(What I’d tell the players)... The town of Hatch is a small rural town, best known for its fertile soil and many farms.The fall season is here, and the harvest is incoming, but the stores of Hatch have been plagued by break-ins, robberies, and Bandit raids. The local farmers cooperative has hired some traveling folks to protect their stores, which they’ve taken to keeping in the town’s central silos, and perhaps hunt down the culprits if they should strike again. You are among those hired for this task. You don’t know your newly founded team, but that money sure would come in handy. Each night, you take to posts throughout the town, ringing the central silos.
The last few days of the harvest go by without a snag. Tomorrow morning, a farmer’s caravan is to set out for the great market and harbors of Drear Crag and Cliffs End. A caravan which you will be escorting as the final part of this job. The night is quiet and calm, you can see the flickering torches of your fellow hired guards: your posts are stationed where you can see the nearest guard to any direction of you, ideally creating a net of impassable distance. The breeze isn’t soft, a light play against your clothing, hair and torch. It’s been a quiet job and easy pay.
Then the night is rent by an explosion. You turn to the sound, only to be swept back by the force of a heat wave. Knocked to your feet, you see fires climbing into the night. You rush toward the town silos, the source of the commotion. Before you they appear in flame, smoke billowing into the night. As you stare on, you hear the crack of a whip, and horses hooves, then see a line of wagons, tearing through the towns dirt roads, away from the silos.You watch one, then another, then another of your fellow guards fall to arrows in the head or chest, seemingly from nowhere. What do you do?
(next events).... the players are the only guards remaining.
if they decide to chase the wagons they are harried by bowman from rooftop through the streets of town. On foot they cannot keep up and are forced to track the wagons back to the Bandit camp. They combat the bandits (or negotiate) and bring the wagons home, to leave again anotherday and escort them to the great market.
if they decide to fight the fires, they quickly realize the fires are an illusion. They were deceived and the bandits have let the farmers do their work for them by loading the wagons. The farmers beg them to track the wagons.
(fast forward).... players escort the saved wagon train, fend off a roving party of orcs, and arrive at the great market, where the harvest festival, Sicklehang, is in full swing.the players, meander into a tent labeled (circus of bla bla) and are kidnapped, along with much of the crowd, to be sold as slaves.
And thats what I have so far. Thoughts? All are welcome, I really struggle with openings, so this is always awful.
Seems like a decent start to a game. You have a solid premise and a few choice points along the way. I assume the bandits have a magician of some kind on hand if they are tossing around such spells like Major Image. A fifth level caster like that seems sort of strong for a starting party to have to deal with, but maybe the bandits just got their hands on a scroll or something. There's a DM's Guild adventure that has some orcs trying to blow up a city's walls with unspecified magical blasting scrolls that are basically magical equivalents of time bombs. It'd be kind of neat if maybe that explosion on your silos was actually real (but still a distraction) and was basically a notice or something that was hung there among the other messages by an inside agent. It would help make sense of how the silos got attacked without anyone noticing earlier. Then if the party tries to capture some of the archer bandits for questioning, it may reveal a deeper conspiracy within the town as well as more information about the "bandit camp."
After they rescue the wagons and do their escort mission, I'm not sure getting kidnapped by an evil circus is really the best play, but if you have a bit more information about that, I'd be willing to see if I can offer any advice.
Thanks Meta,
I appreciate the advice. Thanks so much. To your initial points: The bandits have a a pair of twin bards, both fifth level, casting major image together to create a 40x20x20 illusion. Yes they are too powerful for the party, but they figure in later in the campaign. Though both flee later at the camp. I like the idea of the item bomb scrolls, that could be great. Because the illusion doesn’t allow for the noise of an explosion as powerful as I’d like. I like the idea of a conspiracy, but really, this is only meant as starting action. I almost just began with the escort mission, but I hate starting just like that.
As for the circus, it’s actually the beginning of the first chapter of the campaign. The circus is kidnapping slaves for a cult, which figures prominently in the first act of the campaign. I have a party of half brand new players ad half veterans, so I’m trying to create something that will allow the new players to see the veterans do some serious role playing. My back up option to the circus was a kidnapped mayor’s daughter to rescue from the woods nearby. But that was too combat heavy, so I changed it.
The overarching first act is that there isn’t a cult working to find and restore hidden template, to disrupt the regional governments, and release an imprisioned villain of immense power all in service of their god. But they need resources first, and must build power for their master. The second act is the search for said villain and his capture/death. You can see what I have most fleshed out so far.
Forgive all all my typos. I’m on my ipad, and it’s autocorrect is going berserk.
In that case, unless you can tie the silo/escort missions to the cult in some way, it'd almost be worth it to just cut those and go straight for the circus. Have the players wander the city a bit and find themselves at the local festival. Having them all being captured together and having to work out a way to escape the cult is rather reminiscent of the beginning of the Out of the Abyss adventure book where the party starts off in a Drow slave pen deep in the Underdark.
I haven’t read Out of the Abyss, but I’m glad to have inadvertently drawn from some things established. More than anything The Bandit missions are meant to establish the region, environments for them to be familiar wi5h since its homebrew, and provide some lower level combats to level up. Also, I’m going to tie it into two of my characters back stories. Sorry all of this could have been said initially, but I’m writing these posts during short breaks at work.
Seems good then. Are the bandits and/or their bards going to be tied into the regional cult issues?
The bards are. They play in as trying to quietly bring a lord of a major fishing town over to the cults sway through misdirection. They were going to be at the circus, but Im just now deciding to spread out the heavy hitters. You’re helping me think this through better. I appreciate it greatly!
I just had a funny thought about a mass disappearing act the cult could use to get all the people.
So they have the two bards doing something of a magic show in the center ring with two large crates. Basically, it's a transportative disappearing act where one bard goes into one colorful crate and comes out the other, maybe in a new outfit with a party drink or something else funny. Then, they start casting stuff like Suggestion and/or Hypnotic Pattern or maybe they just use enchanted instruments to get people to volunteer to go in the box, ostensibly to show off the most amazing disappearing trick yet. They say they are going to make the whole crowd vanish and people start lining up to go in the box, but none are coming out of the other end. Everyone wants to go in the box because wherever it goes, that one bard came out the other side all fancy-like with a frosted margarita or some-such. Once everyone has been sent into the box (party included), smash-cut to the cult's prison pits. Back at the circus, the bards high-five and begin preparing for the next show in a few hours.
Oooh that’s is a great idea. I also realized that I might be able to level my idea better. If I lowered the bards level, they could achieve the same effect using minor illusion and silent image side by side: 15ft cube of fire from one and audio from minor illusion cantrip. I’ve also considered it being a scroll of major image that they use. My goal is I want to establish three or four small, one evening adventures that seem disconnected but come together after y adventures or so. The whole campaign is only meant as a 12 session campaign.
On the subject of the spellcasters, I found a spell caster enemy in Volos with the right spell slots at CR 1