Like a year or two ago I ran a couple sessions with some friends as a DM for the first time. We ended up canceling the campaign due to several factors, but recently we've been thinking of trying to restart it. I still am quite proud of the plot I came up with as my first time dming, but I don't wanna restart the campaign in the same way. Plus it feels weird starting it off differently. The players were probably going to make new characters for it anyway, so I wanted to toss out the old plot. I'm going to keep the world the same (barring things related to the old plot), just edit thing in related to whatever new plot I write in. I however am not able to think up of a new plot. If/when we do play again, it probably won't be for a hot minute, so I've got plenty of time.
In this world where magic was once uncommon, it is now not only abundant, but it is normal for most people to hold at least some minor control of it. It's even viewed as odd when one doesn't know even the most basic spells. All of this is due to a massive cracked, crooked, and ominous spire that has stood in the near center of this Pangaea-like world. It reaches far past the clouds, and while its base is a smooth obsidian-like stone, the rest of it is jagged and uneven. For several centuries after this spire was first discovered in the center of a humongous badlands, people generally avoided it, with the exception of a few researchers escorted by a band of adventurers. Though all were still too fearful to touch it. When one person, a female Elf by the name of Gioli Fethoft, finally touched it, she gained sudden magical prowess, where once she had none. Once she left the badlands and told people what had happened, dozens and dozens more people began flocking to this spire. Out of the swarms that now were engaging this spire, all but very few received some level of magic abilities after touching it. Though Gioli's abilities outmatched any other who touched it. With an influx of people heading to the spire, a city began to arise around it. Over the next 280 years, a large city was built around the massive spire, in the center of an even larger badlands, where nothing grew easily on its own. Over the years, from hundreds of thousands of people touching the spire to gain magic abilities, it lead to magic becoming common place. Due to Gioli being the first and most powerful of any who made contact with the spire, and due to her Elven nature as well, she became the ruler of this great city that emerged.
Over the recent years however, Gioli Feathoft had slowly begun to become more and more reclusive. Leading to an influx of crime. As Gioli slowly became more reclusive, creatures from a different plane of existence rarely seen in the badlands began to attack and invade the city. Accompanied by these strange invasions, correlating to her further reclusion, more and more people were gradually rejected by the spire when they made contact, leaving them dumb founded when they received no magic. This left not only the city, but the rest of the people across the world uneasy. With everyone keeping their eyes on this spire, now dubbed The Onyx Spire, this is where the adventure begins. Our party, not yet united, have all either just arrived in the city, or decided to finally make contact with The Onyx Spire. With all of them gathering at its base, this is where their stories begin.
This was the summary I gave to the players when first starting the campaign. The idea was, was that a slowly dying god that had gone mad over the centuries of being stuck in the astral sea after being forgotten, began to work on merging the planes of existence in his maddened state. The Onyx Spire is one of many that were to appear across the world as the campaign went on. Each spire representing a plane of existence and appearing different in appearance. With the appearance of each spire, the plane each was linked to would begin to bleed into the Material Plane in that area. The first person to interact with each spire being forced into a pact with that god, and would be used to quicken the merging of the planes via the magic forced upon them. I planned out several ways the campaign could go depending on what choices they would make, and things could end in many ways regarding the spires and this god gone mad. I didn't plan much further than that though, as I decided to wait until the players got to that point to figure out what would happen next.
In the world I am building the continent is sort of like the shape of Australia but it is all fertile. A large tall mountain range runs most of the length of the north coast, but allows space for a fertile plain before reaching the shore. The Dwarves migrated here a long time ago, landed on the northern fertile plain and then proceeded to occupy the mountains where they have been content since, except for a short war with native Orcs.
Elves migrated here a long time ago and occupied a great forest in the north at the eastern edge of the dwarven mountain range, and occupied a peninsula that projects from the southeast area of the map. The Elves that occupy the peninsula have stuck to the "old ways" and they are content to live on their peninsula under a shroud of mystery. Few outsiders may travel inside these lands. The Elves that inhabit the great woods have developed some innovations and are looked down upon by the southern elves as too progressive. These wood elves are a little more laid back and guests are welcome but must make their stay fairly short unless they obtain specific permission to remain longer.
The humans on the continent arrived from two trading cultures that had ships that passed by this continent. These men are originally descended from shipwrecked sailors and a few occasional shipwrecked passengers. One of the cultures had a very strong agriculture tradition and they settled the easternmost region to become the nation of Colorova. In the setting they grow a product analogous to tobacco that is highly sought after in all the continent. They are known for tinkering with seeds and grafting to develop new and better strains of anything they grow. The other nation had the misfortune of settling on the only land that could raise crops that wasn't dominated by the indigenous Orcs. They settled on the eastern bank of a river that ran from the Elven forest in the north to a bay near the upper reaches of the Elven peninsula, and so this river has always been known as the Elven River. Before the men settled here, the Elves walked a trail that followed the banks of this river to facilitate trade and diplomacy.
In the thirty years preceding the opening of the players campaign, this nation of men, Confernos, went on a military campaign to drive the marauding Orcs west away from the Elven River. The campaign was vastly more successful than anyone ever anticipated. The Orcs were driven west to occupy only the last fifty or sixty miles of land on the western coast on the other side of what became known as the Yellow River, named by a military scout that first looked out on the river as it reflected the yellow rays of the late afternoon sun. This river runs from the mountains where the dwarves live to the coast on the southern portion of the continent in a bay that has been named the Oyster Bay. So the nation of Confernos is "in control" of the lion's share of the continent but over two thirds of their lands are essentially unsettled wilderness.
To support the military campaigns, logistics bases were built which grew into towns and cities. Long distance travel is performed as much as possible by ship, and from there regular supply trains (wagons) and merchant caravans travel the "roads" between settlements. The settlements are spaced about one days travel apart, smaller villages have sprung up between the towns and cities at these distances. Each settlement (City, town and village) will typically have a band of soldiers as the Watch and a sheriff responsible for the administration of the laws. Taverns and inns, a stable, a blacksmith and a general goods merchant may be found in every village, along with an open area market that runs during the warmer months from dawn until noon. More facilities are found in towns including various tradesmen, and a temple, chapel or church. In order to become a town, the locals have to construct a wall around an area of 200 acres and a permanent chapel, so you will find these features at every town and city.
The setting is arranged this way to support logically what the adventurers are doing in this world. There is a particular struggle that requires intervention between Confernos and the Orcs they drove out of these lands. The lands are largely unsettled wilderness, so nearly anything might happen travelling between towns or exploring the out of the way places. There is plenty of space for bandits of any race and any description to live in small or mobile communities. And there is an impetus for the authorities to want to see the frontiers pushed back and cleansed of the wild things that compete for crop and grazing land.
The campaign that is designed to play out begins with the party meeting in the original capitol of the nation of Confernos, which was once called Fortress City because of their relationship to the Orcs, but since Alexander led the great campaign against the Orcs, this city has been renamed Alexandria. The capitol has been moved to a central location in the new lands to facilitate administration of the new area. Magical means have been established to create and maintain a strong link between the new capitol and Alexandria, where all the administration was conducted before. Even the government bureaucracy is in transition.
From Alexandria, the party is expected to find its way to the westernmost town that faces the Orc nation, called the Wandering Orcs, because of their tribal and nomadic traditions, or the Wandering Peoples. This town, in my writing, is called Stonebridge, because of the stone arch bridge constructed over a prominent stream in this last province. Troops are constantly moving to and beyond Stonebridge in support of the campaign to keep the Orcs from thinking they might attack and drive the humans from their lands and reclaim their hunting grounds. The PCs are expected to reach level 3 or 4 before they arrive in Stonebridge and along the way they are fed a steady stream of local lore about life on the frontier. Once they are in Stonebridge the campaign expects them to participate in some manner supporting the effort to civilize the areas around Stonebridge and then even fight Orc warbands on the frontier.
While this is going on, unbeknownst to anyone besides the Orcs and their new allies, a nation of hobgoblins living in a portion of the mountains unknown to the dwarves, complete their preparations for a real war with the humans. The Hobgoblins have the associated goblin and bugbear contingents, and allied with the orcs they are quite prepared to enter into a war with the humans on a scale the humans are not expecting. As the party gets to about level 8, the conflict would transition from orc skirmishes and raids, to a real war with the Four Foes. The humans would have to call on their allies among the Dwarves and Elves, and whatever help they can cajole from Colorova to meet the new threat.
This goes on until about the time the PCs get to level 12 or 13. At this point, a mysterious problem is heard about in the smaller mountain range that runs north-south to divide the two human nations. At some point, a true evil force breaks free of the mountains and comes forth to invade the original lands of the people of Confernos. The players are expected to turn over the war fighting in the west to go meet the new threat in the east. This threat will be discovered to be linked to another plane of existence and facilitated by a sect within the nation of Colorova. The PCs complete the campaign by facing down this threat and chasing it back to the plane from where it came.
Exactly what the players are doing while these events play out will be handled as the game develops. If the players ask for a particular magic weapon or artifact, I would want to develop a threat that both taped into the effects of the artifact and possibly show its weaknesses. It is too difficult to say where the players will want to take this campaign. But by its construction, the situation is very fluid so allot of different things could happen and the fact that so much of the land is 'unconquered wilderness' doesn't break logical barrier that strange things will happen.
I don't know if there is anything in there you can use, but I share it so you might find something that you will find helpful.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
I mean... has anybody ever actually tried climbing the spire? Because that seems like the obvious way to go for an adventure. Perhaps the spire’s magic has been sapped over the years, and in order to gain power one must climb ever higher, closer to whatever awaits at the top, of there even is one.
Personally doing a world building session is one of the most fun sessions there is.
get your players together 2-4 weeks before the game will properly start, before character creation and have either a blank sheet of paper or some ideas jotted down and just go round discussing things playing of people
have open questions to ask them
Is the world pre,post,post post apocalypse or apocalypse neutral?
What is magic in this world?
What type of fantasy is it (high fantasy, low fantasy, steampunky etc)?
What level of technology has the world reached?
who are the leaders and followers?
Ask them to add things to the world they have always wanted, then get the others to build on the idea, maybe someone always wanted a Dwarven city of suspension bridges and technology suspended above an infinite abyss. Maybe they wanted there to be a tribe of nomadic druids that protect the forests. Maybe they want to rob a sky ship.
then ask them what class they want to play, where does that class fit in this world. Same with race.
then go away for 2-4 weeks and write it.
if you don’t end that session with a million ideas then you are probably better served buying a campaign book.
Like a year or two ago I ran a couple sessions with some friends as a DM for the first time. We ended up canceling the campaign due to several factors, but recently we've been thinking of trying to restart it. I still am quite proud of the plot I came up with as my first time dming, but I don't wanna restart the campaign in the same way. Plus it feels weird starting it off differently. The players were probably going to make new characters for it anyway, so I wanted to toss out the old plot. I'm going to keep the world the same (barring things related to the old plot), just edit thing in related to whatever new plot I write in. I however am not able to think up of a new plot. If/when we do play again, it probably won't be for a hot minute, so I've got plenty of time.
Give me details about the campaign.
Supreme Cat-lover Of The First Grade
I AM A CAT PERSON. /\_____/\
She/her pronouns please. (=^.^=)
1. The spire could be diseased, effecting all magic,
2. The original creators of magic come back to claim the spires
Supreme Cat-lover Of The First Grade
I AM A CAT PERSON. /\_____/\
She/her pronouns please. (=^.^=)
Well I wanted to entirely scrap the spires and the related plot. I just needed some new plot ideas-
In the world I am building the continent is sort of like the shape of Australia but it is all fertile. A large tall mountain range runs most of the length of the north coast, but allows space for a fertile plain before reaching the shore. The Dwarves migrated here a long time ago, landed on the northern fertile plain and then proceeded to occupy the mountains where they have been content since, except for a short war with native Orcs.
Elves migrated here a long time ago and occupied a great forest in the north at the eastern edge of the dwarven mountain range, and occupied a peninsula that projects from the southeast area of the map. The Elves that occupy the peninsula have stuck to the "old ways" and they are content to live on their peninsula under a shroud of mystery. Few outsiders may travel inside these lands. The Elves that inhabit the great woods have developed some innovations and are looked down upon by the southern elves as too progressive. These wood elves are a little more laid back and guests are welcome but must make their stay fairly short unless they obtain specific permission to remain longer.
The humans on the continent arrived from two trading cultures that had ships that passed by this continent. These men are originally descended from shipwrecked sailors and a few occasional shipwrecked passengers. One of the cultures had a very strong agriculture tradition and they settled the easternmost region to become the nation of Colorova. In the setting they grow a product analogous to tobacco that is highly sought after in all the continent. They are known for tinkering with seeds and grafting to develop new and better strains of anything they grow. The other nation had the misfortune of settling on the only land that could raise crops that wasn't dominated by the indigenous Orcs. They settled on the eastern bank of a river that ran from the Elven forest in the north to a bay near the upper reaches of the Elven peninsula, and so this river has always been known as the Elven River. Before the men settled here, the Elves walked a trail that followed the banks of this river to facilitate trade and diplomacy.
In the thirty years preceding the opening of the players campaign, this nation of men, Confernos, went on a military campaign to drive the marauding Orcs west away from the Elven River. The campaign was vastly more successful than anyone ever anticipated. The Orcs were driven west to occupy only the last fifty or sixty miles of land on the western coast on the other side of what became known as the Yellow River, named by a military scout that first looked out on the river as it reflected the yellow rays of the late afternoon sun. This river runs from the mountains where the dwarves live to the coast on the southern portion of the continent in a bay that has been named the Oyster Bay. So the nation of Confernos is "in control" of the lion's share of the continent but over two thirds of their lands are essentially unsettled wilderness.
To support the military campaigns, logistics bases were built which grew into towns and cities. Long distance travel is performed as much as possible by ship, and from there regular supply trains (wagons) and merchant caravans travel the "roads" between settlements. The settlements are spaced about one days travel apart, smaller villages have sprung up between the towns and cities at these distances. Each settlement (City, town and village) will typically have a band of soldiers as the Watch and a sheriff responsible for the administration of the laws. Taverns and inns, a stable, a blacksmith and a general goods merchant may be found in every village, along with an open area market that runs during the warmer months from dawn until noon. More facilities are found in towns including various tradesmen, and a temple, chapel or church. In order to become a town, the locals have to construct a wall around an area of 200 acres and a permanent chapel, so you will find these features at every town and city.
The setting is arranged this way to support logically what the adventurers are doing in this world. There is a particular struggle that requires intervention between Confernos and the Orcs they drove out of these lands. The lands are largely unsettled wilderness, so nearly anything might happen travelling between towns or exploring the out of the way places. There is plenty of space for bandits of any race and any description to live in small or mobile communities. And there is an impetus for the authorities to want to see the frontiers pushed back and cleansed of the wild things that compete for crop and grazing land.
The campaign that is designed to play out begins with the party meeting in the original capitol of the nation of Confernos, which was once called Fortress City because of their relationship to the Orcs, but since Alexander led the great campaign against the Orcs, this city has been renamed Alexandria. The capitol has been moved to a central location in the new lands to facilitate administration of the new area. Magical means have been established to create and maintain a strong link between the new capitol and Alexandria, where all the administration was conducted before. Even the government bureaucracy is in transition.
From Alexandria, the party is expected to find its way to the westernmost town that faces the Orc nation, called the Wandering Orcs, because of their tribal and nomadic traditions, or the Wandering Peoples. This town, in my writing, is called Stonebridge, because of the stone arch bridge constructed over a prominent stream in this last province. Troops are constantly moving to and beyond Stonebridge in support of the campaign to keep the Orcs from thinking they might attack and drive the humans from their lands and reclaim their hunting grounds. The PCs are expected to reach level 3 or 4 before they arrive in Stonebridge and along the way they are fed a steady stream of local lore about life on the frontier. Once they are in Stonebridge the campaign expects them to participate in some manner supporting the effort to civilize the areas around Stonebridge and then even fight Orc warbands on the frontier.
While this is going on, unbeknownst to anyone besides the Orcs and their new allies, a nation of hobgoblins living in a portion of the mountains unknown to the dwarves, complete their preparations for a real war with the humans. The Hobgoblins have the associated goblin and bugbear contingents, and allied with the orcs they are quite prepared to enter into a war with the humans on a scale the humans are not expecting. As the party gets to about level 8, the conflict would transition from orc skirmishes and raids, to a real war with the Four Foes. The humans would have to call on their allies among the Dwarves and Elves, and whatever help they can cajole from Colorova to meet the new threat.
This goes on until about the time the PCs get to level 12 or 13. At this point, a mysterious problem is heard about in the smaller mountain range that runs north-south to divide the two human nations. At some point, a true evil force breaks free of the mountains and comes forth to invade the original lands of the people of Confernos. The players are expected to turn over the war fighting in the west to go meet the new threat in the east. This threat will be discovered to be linked to another plane of existence and facilitated by a sect within the nation of Colorova. The PCs complete the campaign by facing down this threat and chasing it back to the plane from where it came.
Exactly what the players are doing while these events play out will be handled as the game develops. If the players ask for a particular magic weapon or artifact, I would want to develop a threat that both taped into the effects of the artifact and possibly show its weaknesses. It is too difficult to say where the players will want to take this campaign. But by its construction, the situation is very fluid so allot of different things could happen and the fact that so much of the land is 'unconquered wilderness' doesn't break logical barrier that strange things will happen.
I don't know if there is anything in there you can use, but I share it so you might find something that you will find helpful.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
I mean... has anybody ever actually tried climbing the spire? Because that seems like the obvious way to go for an adventure. Perhaps the spire’s magic has been sapped over the years, and in order to gain power one must climb ever higher, closer to whatever awaits at the top, of there even is one.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Personally doing a world building session is one of the most fun sessions there is.
get your players together 2-4 weeks before the game will properly start, before character creation and have either a blank sheet of paper or some ideas jotted down and just go round discussing things playing of people
have open questions to ask them
Is the world pre,post,post post apocalypse or apocalypse neutral?
What is magic in this world?
What type of fantasy is it (high fantasy, low fantasy, steampunky etc)?
What level of technology has the world reached?
who are the leaders and followers?
Ask them to add things to the world they have always wanted, then get the others to build on the idea, maybe someone always wanted a Dwarven city of suspension bridges and technology suspended above an infinite abyss. Maybe they wanted there to be a tribe of nomadic druids that protect the forests. Maybe they want to rob a sky ship.
then ask them what class they want to play, where does that class fit in this world. Same with race.
then go away for 2-4 weeks and write it.
if you don’t end that session with a million ideas then you are probably better served buying a campaign book.
have you tried going into the ungnome?
Rogue Shadow, the DM (and occasional) PC with schemes of inventive thinking